ETHICS AND CSR - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module introduces students to the study of ethics and applies this to tourism, transport, hospitality and events. Within the last decade significant attention has been paid to the issue of ethics and sustainability in these industries. Issues such as: corporate social responsibility, global reporting, ethical consumption, to name but a few, are becoming increasingly central to business practice. This module will offer students the opportunity to reflect upon their own understanding of ethics and corporate responsibility. It will introduce them to a range of theoretical approaches to understanding ethics and ethical responses to business situations, as well as provide the opportunity for in-depth reflection and critique on ‘real life’ scenarios. In so doing, this module adopts the University's curriculum framework, which aims to develop learners with strong Global and Cultural capabilities, Sustainability, Resourcefulness and Resilience while enhancing their Employability and Digital capabilities.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

KIMBU Albert (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

The thematic areas that the module focuses on include: 

• Tourism and ethics: tourism’s new moralities


• Human Nature (including: emotion, reason, self-interest, altruism, reciprocal altruism, theory of commitment)


• Philosophy and ethics


• Environmental ethics


• Politics and ethics


• Human rights in tourism, hospitality and events


• Business ethics in tourism, hospitality and events (including: sustainability, CSR, codes of ethics, ethical business responses, trust and culture, stewardship and ecological values, best practice and benchmarking)

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

In the event that a group project will not be suitable for re-assessment, an individual essay will be assigned.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment methods are designed to encourage students to acquire and apply knowledge and skills by examining a practical topic from a conceptual perspective.

Assessments will evaluate students’ knowledge and critical understanding of how ethical theory can help resolve dilemmas in the tourism and hospitality industry. Furthermore, students’ ability to interpret academic and other secondary sources and report findings in a creative and business-like manner will be tested.

The Summative assessment for this module consists of:

a) an individual essay (based upon theoretical critique), and

b) a group project (critique of a case study scenario and industry response).

Formative Assessment and feedback:

Unmarked formative feedback will be provided to students through a range of approaches, including question and answer sessions in class and discussions using Surrey Learn.

Module aims

• This module aims to:
  Develop students ethical framework within the context of sustainability in the tourism, transport, hospitality, and events industries.
  Introduce students to a range of theoretical approaches and support students in critiquing the application of such theories to case examples.
  Encourage students to consider and reflect upon the range of ethical conflicts and dilemmas that arise within the hospitality and tourism industries, and to critique a range of responses to such scenarios.
  

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The key teaching and learning strategy is designed to:

• Encourage active, problem-based learning. By drawing reference to a range of case study examples (relating to topics such as: CSR, sex tourism, and human rights with industry partners such as It's a Penalty, TUI, ABTA, etc),


• Provide students with the opportunity to understand and critique theory through real world cases. Such an approach will encourage students to explore and critically evaluate theoretical perspectives.

• Lectures, seminar discussions and debates, presentations, case study analysis, and role play scenarios will synthesise relevant concepts and theories as well as discuss topical issues which the students will be called upon to further explore in more depth through independent guided learning activities. These L&T activities are designed explicitly to develop students’ critical ability and comprehension of the issues addressed through active and engaged learning.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM309

Other information

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Students will learn how to interpret results of business cases and their implications to service business in a global context by extracting, comparing, and contrasting individual and group behaviours, as well as sectoral, national, and regional differences captured from different case studies and scenarios. 

Sustainability and Employability: The module and its assessments require students to critically reflect and demonstrate their understanding of the role and application of ethics and CSR within the tourism sector and its implications for the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the sector and its stakeholders. Students will learn also how to reflect on how to interpret and address dilemmas that are prevalent in the industry.  This understanding will prepare students to be successful employees and managers taking decisions in a rationale and sustainable manner.  

Resourcefulness and Resilience: Students will be required to use a range of sources to identify relevant datasets, conduct independent research, and work collaboratively with peers to extract patterns and critical insights from datasets. Finding solutions through unstructured problems is the key learning aspect of this module that will develop students’ resourcefulness and resilience.

Digital Capabilities: They will learn how to use a the virtual learning environment (VLE), SurreyLearn, video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to facilitate learning. These include accessing teaching and learning materials and engaging with their instructors and peers. Module assessments require students to work individually and collaboratively with peers to research, assess, develop and present insights from case studies and scenarios on and offline. 

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.